A Light for the Dying World
by Cody.Maxie.7
Summary: A pair of unlikely heroes venture from vault 309 in hopes of making a name for themselves in Arkansas... well what used to be Arkansas. A story of adventure, suspense, love, murder, mystery, revenge, horror, and action so intense you'll be checking YOURSELF for bullet holes after reading this!


**_This is the story of Vinnie and Raymond, a pair of young adults from vault 309 in Arkansas. There will be many characters, locations, conflicts, and tragic incidents in this story. _**

**_This is based upon the Fallout universe BUT I have made some changes of my own. The world is more realistic, and more modern. A lot of common brands will pop up along with a few modern vehicles. the date the bombs fell has been changed to 2012 (Oh the Irony). Everything else should be the same though. _**

**_All reviews are appreciated. feel free to skip the Prologue, all it really does is set the tone but I would recommend reading it anyway. _**

Prologue

It's the year 2042, 30 years following the final world war that nearly ended human life as we know it.

30 years since the bombs cascaded down over what was modern civilization, shaping and molding our world into something out of a horror story.

Never the less, people outside the vaults had to find some way to live and grow. Some banded together to form make-shift settlements, others tried to start rebuilding cities, and many built shakes that were later raided, taken over, or destroyed by whatever lurked out in the now irradiated wilderness. Making a living was hard, Land was tainted with radiation-birthed poison, animals harbored incurable diseases, and it really didn't matter if you had found your own little slice of heaven, raiders would probably take everything you had eventually, leaving nothing for future scavengers. The days of having equal rights and having a fair paying job were long gone, and the few jobs out there would probably pay you in the thrashing by a whip.

Vault life on the other was much more peaceful, easy, and downright safe, never touched by the catastrophe sitting past their unused doorstep. Everybody had enough food to last decades and a very secure place to live. Vault dwellers also possessed the medical technology to cure any kind of sickness that could come up, from ghoulification to the flu. Even though life in the vaults was better than life in the Wasteland, only 1/10 vaults actually succeed in it's job.

Vault 309 was were Vinnie & Raymond are from. They had always heard stories of life outside the vaults by the few elders who had been out there, stories of war, of survival, even fortune, it sounded amazing. Just having the freedom to be whatever you wanted to be instead of having a preassigned job, or maybe go where ever you wanted to was enough for Vinnie and Raymond.

There was a rule in the vault though, once you left you could never return. You would leave all of your family on the hopes of making it big and finding adventure, but if you failed than there was no way to go back to your old life. Many people who wanted to leave thought about it months before they left, some who had left even came back and begged to be let back in, but never were.

Vinnie had it all figured out, Him and his new friend would set out on a quest into the unknown wasteland in search for a better alternative than that of the almost enslaving vault. To find riches, gain fain, impress the women, and most importantly, live the adventure of a lifetime.

Now the thing to remember about these two is that they were both book smart, but neither of them had any experience outside the vault what so ever.

**Chapter 1**

It's the afternoon in Lake Ouachita, Arkansas and the sun is shining through the ash-filled air and lighting the now ugly and gray Earth. The land is textured with dying trees, grass-less ground, irradiated water; and hosts a suite of dangerous animals, creatures, hostile humans along with their weapons, and pools of irradiated slime bubbling and slowly burning away the bodies trapped in them. On a distant walking trail straying from the lake area into the forest is where a small cave with a wooden door sits housing vault 309. This is where our story begins.

The cave door slowly creaked open to reveal Vinnie, a young man 5'6 maybe 140 pounds. He had blond hair in a messy fashion hanging down just below his eyebrows; hazel eyes, pale white skin, and he was wearing his pip-boy, a comfortably-worn blue Vault 309 jumpsuit featuring attached metal pieces of armor, a holster cradling his pistol, and a tan pack latched over his back. As Vinnie stepped out from the door and onto the cracked and dried ground the sun flashed it's blinding rays into his unadjusted eyes, which he immediately shielded. They would need some time to adjust.

Vinnie was always the kid in the vault with the biggest dreams of life outside in the wastes, even at a young age. He even went as far as mocking the vault, often muttering phrases such as "Rather be a radroach than stay a vault dweller." which had rightfully earn him a lecture or two from the overseer. The other kids quickly began to respect Vinnie for standing up for what he believed in, that and it was funny to see the overseer get a little worked up from time to time. As Vinnie had gotten older though, his complaining started to evolve into threats of leaving, but he needed a partner...

Another man stepped through the cave door, a man named Raymond. He looked to be 6', 160 pounds, and well-built concerning muscle. Raymond had short dark brown hair, brown eyes of the sort that gave that thousand-mile stare look, and pale skin. He wore his pip-boy, a red bandanna, an old set of camouflage hunting clothes, and carried a bright red pack latched to his back, ruining his camouflage attire. Raymond too immediately shielded his eyes from the overly-bright sun and began to study the world around him.

Raymond was one of the less popular kids of the vault. He started working with his father at an early age and he didn't take the time out of his busy schedule to work on his social status, but Instead, he opted to learn everything his father could teach him about being a doctor and taking care of people who needed the help. The only other activity he would partake in was learning to play his guitar, a Gibson Les Paul. After years of the father-sun apprenticeship he finally took the Vault's GOAT test hoping for a doctors position. A few days ago he had gotten the results, and to his extreme dismay he was elected as the new computer technician for the security terminals. Thoughts of rebelling and leaving boiled in his mind, and after talking with Vinnie he had decided to join him in leaving the vault in hopes of helping people in the wastes.

Prior to leaving the vault Vinnie and Raymond both gathered some items they figured would help them above ground. Vinnie was carrying a stolen 9mm pistol that once belonged to a security guard, 2 clips, an Arkansas state map, and 2 days supply of food for both of them. Raymond was carrying a sawn-off shotgun with no ammo, his toothbrush, a couple of stimpaks, and an old prewar electric guitar he had mastered over the years.

Raymond swiveled his head around scanning the barren, unfruitful landscape before him. It was nothing short of amazing, beautiful only for the fact he had never seen anything quite like it. Dead trees arched above their dirt floor casting dark shadows onto the once bland boulders, now sporting spray painted gang signs and the art of a dying world. Sprouts of yellowish-black weeds climbed from the dirt awaiting the next rain. It surprised him how much detail was crammed into such a small clearing that laid in front of them, and in his state of awe the only word he produce was wow.

Vinnie was in awe almost as much as Raymond, this was the moment he had been waiting for all of his life, and it was even more grand than the elders could ever had made it out to be. He looked to Raymond and responded "We've got a lot of territory to cover before dark, so lets figure out our priorities..." After thinking for a moment he continued, "My idea was to find shelter for the night and work from there, sound good to you?"

Raymond nodded to Vinnie in agreement thinking it would be easy to find shelter in a place this big. They both took one last look at the rock cave that sheltered them all of their life, along with the vault's other residents. then they set out on the walking trail feeling confident that it wouldn't be long until they found somewhere to stay for the night

* * *

After a combination of walking, small talk, and letting their eyes retrieve every detail of their local environment they reached the main park area. It had only taken them an hour. When they arrived their skin was covered thickly with sweat, so they took a short sitting break and surveyed the park. The place looked atrocious, graffiti stained everything advertising gangs and raiding groups; buildings were torn apart with only support beams still standing; and sings lay fondled and broken over the ground. To any normal person this place would look like a dump, but to Vinnie and Raymond, it was beautiful. After reading some of the broken signs they figured out the lodges were located atop a hill a couple of miles away, and that if they followed one of the roads they could make it up there before dark. Time to walk again.

The roads leading up to the lodge curved around rocky hills and used a few bridges suspended above tributaries to the lake. The walk was pretty uneventful, the scenery's "beauty" had worn off on the both of them finally and all Raymond could think about was how damned uncomfortable his clothes were while Vinnie continued along transfixed on the road.

As they both rounded another corner they ran into two black feral dogs. The dogs noticed them immediately and shifted into a ready-to-attack stance, accompanying it with growling. Vinnie and Raymond both took a step back to prepare themselves.

"Oh shit!" Vinnie nervously said. He immediately threw his hand down to his holster to pulled out his already-loaded pistol. He couldn't help but take a split second to admire the design and feel of the gun, it was a Beretta model 92 in almost mint condition, finally seeing some well deserved action. The dogs began to inch closer as he readied his shaking hands and aimed down the pistol's sights, hoping to god they were properly adjusted. He fixed his aim on the head of the nearest dog and pulled the trigger, a loud bang bellowed from the gun and reddish mist sprayed from the dog as it let out one last whine, then fell to the side of the road dead. Thick blood oozed out from the dog's chest, not quite a head-shot but just as efficient.

The other dog quickly charged toward a surprised Raymond who was only thirty feet away. Raymond had to think fast _Fuck, no ammo, wait! My guitar. _Raymond swung his arms behind his back trying to unfasten the guitar from his pack while jogging backwards. He panicked as the dog got closer and closer with Vinnie not being able to aim fast enough to kill the dog in time. In final desperation Raymond put all his muscle into one last tug, popping the guitar off the pack and into his gripping hands. the dog leaped into the air and before it got close enough to attack, Raymond swung the guitar like a baseball bat hitting the dog right in the neck, giving off a reassuring snapping sound and throwing the dog into a nearby ditch, shooting dust into the air like smoke.

Vinnie stood to the side shaking nervously, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop. Eventually it got the best of him and he ran to the side of the road and threw up. He tried to justify it in his head, _Come on anybody would throw up after seeing this, _but it didn't help him get over he wiped his mouth off, holstered his pistol, and looked to Raymond who appeared to just be staring at the dog he killed. "We ne- We need to find you some ammo for that shotgun." Vinnie's said with a shaky voice.

Although the attack did shake Raymond, he managed to calm down a lot better than Vinnie. "Yeah, all the more reason to get a move on then, lets go." He replied. Raymond's voice was controlled, and sounded serious. It wasn't shaky in the least bit. He was stone cold calm like nothing had happened, it was almost as if he belonged in the wastes, a surviver, a killer. They both readied up and headed out across the hot pavement.

After a short walk the both of them found themselves standing on the plot once occupied by the lodges, now housing black and chard support beams, rusting pre-war appliances, trash, and the little that remained of the buildings. Disappointed but not discouraged The both of them began to rummage through the ruins hoping to find some hidden treasures. About an hour later, with blackened hands and sweat dripping from their forehead, they had managed to find a candy bar and a plastic shower curtain, both of which being in an older cabinet. Afterwards Raymond decided to improvise a roof out of the shower curtain by stretching it over some still-standing support beams, providing shelter for the coming night.

Raymond's shelter was frail and dirty. The shower curtain was covered inunknown stains, while the support beams were half-burnt and half-broken. Though somehow it managed to fit in perfectly with the gray, melancholy backdrop of the dying forest. Inside he cleared the dirt of ruble good enough to hold two people so long as they were in a sleeping position.

Vinnie walked over and took a look at the shelter, never before had he seen something so sad and flimsy, it disgusted him. _Does dipshit really think I'm going to sleep under this? Who would. _Eventually when Raymond exited the shelter Vinnie shifted his judging eyes to him and turned to speak "And you're going to sleep under that thing?"

Neither of them had much of a choice in their sleeping accommodations for tonight and Raymond knew he would have to settle for whatever he could turn up. "Yeah, I have a roof to protect me and the ground is clear of ruble and rocks. Should be okay." He explained in an obvious tone. After having one last look over before the sun began to set he ducked into his shelter for the coming night.

After a short while Vinnie figured that the shower curtain roofed shelter was the best he was going to get and decided to join Raymond. He crawled in and got into a sleeping position in the dirt. Then pulled out the candy bar he had found earlier, "Wanna split it?"

Raymond was lying on the ground in his under shirt and boxers, while his over clothes were serving as a pillow. He was exhausted and already trying to go to sleep but he was still awake in part due to the diamond-hard ground, so he tiredly tossed himself over to see what Vinnie was talking about. He quickly figured out after seeing the candy bar. "Yeah, you can have the bigger half though, I'm not that hungry." He croaked out as he rolled back over.

"Cool man. I'm glad you said that cause I was planning on eating a bigger half anyways." Vinnie replied in a satisfied tone. He looked at the package, in silver letters it said 'HERSHEY'. After opening the package he snapped the chocolate bar in half and handed the smaller piece to Raymond who gladly took it.

Raymond ate the bar, then he started a new subject of conversation. "I think we did good, but tomorrow I think we should try and make it to the interstate on the map."

Vinnie nodded and replied. "Thats good with me, we could use the interstate to lead us up to Fort Smith, see what's there." He then settled his pack against his head for support.

Fort Smith was the nearest city from their position, and Vinnie had mentioned it a few times over their walk. It was a fifty mile walk according to the map but they had figured when they got their it would be worth it since surely there would be a community there. They figured the quickest way to get to the city would be by the highway though, which they hadn't found yet

Raymond agreed and pulled his guitar up from his side and started tuning it. The strings sang a dulled tone with each pluck signaling they needed changing, but it would be a while before he could get his hands on a new set. Once he settled the guitar into the correct tuning he began playing 'Wish You Were Here' by one of his favorite artists, Pink Floyd. Throughout his years in the vault he had used some of his free time to learn how to play songs like this and others on the guitar, and he had become quite good. He had entered several talent shows and always ranked within the top ten percent, sometimes even winning.

The tune seemed to put weight on Vinnie's eyelids, and eventually he couldn't help but nod off. Then shortly after finishing the song, Raymond joined him in a dreamy sleep

* * *

Vinnie woke early in the dawn to Raymond's voice outside their shelter. "_140, 141, 142, 143..." _Vinnie quickly remembered where he was as he rubbed his sore back, the ground had not been to kind to him the night before. As he stepped out from the curtain he found Raymond fighting off fatigue to do just a few more push ups. "148... 149... 150!" He finished breathing heavily as he fell to the dirt. Then he rolled over and greeted Vinnie with a good morning.

"You do this every morning? Is that how you keep the muscles?"

Raymond caught his breath then responded. "Yup, as well as sit ups, but I've already finished them. I have to keep in shape somehow, now especially."

Vinnie reached inside their shelter and grabbed his pack, then opened it to retrieve some of the food he had swiped from the vault. He pulled out two cans of peaches and two cans of lime soda, each one absent of any make or brand. He then looked back at Raymond, "Catch." He commanded him before throwing both peaches and a soda

Raymond caught each can in separate hands "Nice! I didn't know you packed sodas with you."

"I sort of stole em' from my Mom's fridge before we headed out yesterday. We'll probably need em' more than they will." Vinnie replied. "I'll grab that shower curtain, we might need it later."

The both of them started to pack all of their stuff up and by the time they finished their watches ticked at 8:34 a.m.. Vinnie took out the map and began to survey, and after a brief moment he was able to conclude that they were almost a mile away from the highway if they took the forest, and about three miles by park road. Opting for the shortest distance, they both took to the woods leaving the destroyed lodges, their first home in the wasteland.

* * *

Raymond and Vinnie approached a jagged cliff that dominated over the underlying highway. It looked to be 100 foot above the road if not higher, and scaling down would be hard without the proper knowledge, something both of them lacked. On the other side there were more cliffs but not nearly as big or as dangerously jagged, and an ocean of blackening, dying trees beyond. The highway below was a double lane and littered with the rusting carcasses of old world vehicles that once grazed across the country. Heading east the highway separated to compensate for a rudely placed cliff, and to the west it continues on under the high cliffs, past arching overpasses, and through the once beautiful forest into an unsee-able oblivion.

Vinnie threw his pack to the side and examined the highway below, the first one he had ever seen. After a moment of study he began to think about their current situation and how they would get down the cliffs. He knew that going around wasn't a feasible option since the cliffs went on for god knows how many more miles, and attempting to scale down would be near suicide. He turned to talk to Raymond who was standing behind him, "These cliffs look too dangerous and jagged to climb down freehand, so instead we need to think of another way down." he said.

Raymond shifted his bag and walked over to the side of the cliff, searching for any possible way they could get down safely, but after a good look he couldn't see anything that could help them. "Sorry man, I've got nothing." he replied back.

Vinnie said, "Damn. Should have taken the road out."

"We could go back."

"Well... we'd better at least try and find a way down before calling quits."

They sat over the cliff side and let the cool air twirl around them, it was more than welcome after the hot morning walk. Both of them weren't getting any closer to the highway teasing them below. After a little while Raymond began pulling on the vines that thrived in the cracks in the cliffs, and like a lightning strike, Vinnie knew how they would make their decent into the world below.

"Start pulling all the vines out, I have an idea!" Vinnie told Raymond with excitement bursting through his voice.

Raymond gazed at Vinnie for a moment before realizing what his plan was. "No way man, No way in hell!" he replied.

"Oh yes way! And I'll even go first." a smile formed over Vinnie's face as he said those words. He had already started tearing the vines away from the hosting cliff side.

"Vinnie for gods sake please tell me you're not serious."

"As serious as I've ever been. Get to pullin'." Vinnie said with a yanking gesture.

"How do you know they won't break? You'll die!"

"Look at them, their not going to break anytime soon."

The vines themselves were thick and healthy, probably the greenest thing the two have seen since being outside the vault. Vinnie was sure that the vines would hold up just fine for as long as they needed them, maybe longer. He planed on tying all of them together into a Frankenstein of a rope that could reach the bottom, then tie the end onto a nearby tree. Then simply repel down and see whats inside those vehicles.

"I can't believe this, this is bullshit!"

"Your right it is bullshit, you should have started helping the first time I asked." Vinnie said with humor in his voice.

Raymond muttered, "Crazy bastard." He got up to start pulling out the vines. He knew without a doubt what Vinnie was going to do, and he knew that it must have been the worst idea he would ever be involved in.

After getting the vines tied together Vinnie was now waiting on Raymond to finish tying the end to the anchoring tree, and he couldn't help but give into the temptation of looking down at the rusty vehicles below. He peered at the cars and imagined them as little treasure chests, safely housing whatever valuables the former drivers hauled along with them. Now those same treasures are sitting waiting for a new master to carry them away on a new adventure. He turned back to Raymond and said, "Think of all the shit in those cars down there."

Raymond had finished and before he could get up from the ground Vinnie was already tying the other end of the make shift rope securely around his waist. Raymond hovered over him and watched, then finally he commented. "Looks like you're ready, are you sure about this?"

Vinnie stood and nodded reassuringly, "Of course I'm sure, You watch and then you'll see for yourself." he said. His voice had an optimistic glow to it.

"Alright, goodluck."

And with no more words, Vinnie lowered himself onto the edge of the deadly cliff, both of them knowing any slip up could spell disaster.

_**So what do you think? Things are only going to get more exciting. if you have any constructive criticism, feel free to share. **_

**_Stay great and live for today_**

**_ .7_**


End file.
